As I’m sure you’re aware by now I eat a fully vegan diet, which means I don’t consume any animal products. However, as a vegan I don’t just think about what I eat I also think about what I wear and what I put on my skin. The idea that animals are still being tested on for beauty products is so shocking and disturbing in my opinion. Cosmetics companies can stop animal testing immediately and still produce new, safe and exciting beauty products, simply by manufacturing the cruelty-free way. Animal cruelty is completely unnecessary, and has been banned throughout the 28 countries of the European Union since 2009. So how come companies are still testing?

China requires by law that anything being sold in their country is tested on animals, so if a company wants to sell their products in China they have to accept that they are going to be condoning animal testing. Truly cruelty-free companies such as LUSH and Paul Mitchell have pledged not to sell in China until the animal test law is abolished.

I know how hard it can be walking into Boots or Selfridges and being faced with all the different beauty counters and having no idea which are contributing to animal cruelty and which aren’t. There are apps you can download from the App Store that allow you to scan the bar code of a product and it’ll indicate if it’s cruelty free or not, but from my experience they really don’t work that well. When I was doing research into animal testing I came across some blogs that list cruelty free brands so instead of struggling with the apps that never seem to recognise any of the products I scan, I have saved the best blog lists onto bookmarks on my phone so when I see a product I want to buy I tap on the link and double-check. This way I’m not putting money into the pockets of a brand that condones using animals for testing.

It’s all well and good knowing all the facts but actions have got to be taken if animal testing is ever going to stop, so what can we do to help? Stop buying products from companies that test their ingredients on animals. You could also contact your favourite brands and urge them to make the leap to cruelty-free, and lastly sign human society pledge to show your support to stop the killing and torturing of hundreds of thousands of animals.